


30 Days of Demonfire Drabbles

by orphan_account



Category: Batman (Comics), DC Elseworlds, DCU, DCU (Comics)
Genre: F/M, damar'i, damari, demonfire
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-01-07
Updated: 2015-02-15
Packaged: 2018-03-06 13:24:01
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 30
Words: 17,388
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3136031
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>At the end of this, there will be 30 300 word - 1000 word drabbles that involve the ship Demonfire! This doesn't follow a chronological order and it doesn't follow a storyline, it's just a bunch of random drabbles. They all take place in the same universe, generally, and all events are connected somehow but each drabble takes place at a different time.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Beginning

**Author's Note:**

> Chapter Title: Beginning  
> Rating: K+  
> Universe: New Earth (modified)  
> Word Count: 684  
> Age(s): Mar'i (7) Damian (10) Dick and Kory (26)

The beginning of Damian and Mar’i’s relationship had been rocky, to say the least. And not just their romantic relationship, the very beginning had been difficult.The Grayson family had never spent much time in Gotham, both parents had said that the trip was too long (it wasn’t) and that the cloud cover might interfere with her health (might). When Damian had first made his appearance in Gotham, however, they had decided that they had to see the curiosity that was Bruce Wayne’s only biological son.

Dick hadn’t let Mar’i near him at first, wouldn’t even let her step out from behind him and her mother, partially hidden behind both of their legs, her small hands clasped in theirs. Apparently they’d heard some not so nice things about the boy and that was all that they would tell their daughter. They’d heard words like assassin, brat, and insufferable.All the reasons they were unsure of him for, all the reasons why they were unsure of Mar’i meeting him.

If they had known what would come to pass as the two grew older, they wouldn’t have even considered letting Mar’i near Damian. But no one had a clue that the boy would end up falling in love with her or that she would reciprocate that love twice as passionately as he gave it.

But really, who could have?

The day that they Grayson family had met Damian had been uneventful until the very moment they had stepped into one of the many drawing rooms the manor contained. Mother and daughter had decided to forgo any hologram technology that they regularly wore to be able to put themselves forward as themselves. That might have been a mistake. None of them knew what would come of showing their sclera-less eyes and the skin that gave off a very faint glow. None of them knew what to expect from a boy who seemed to appear out of nowhere, insulting the members of Bruce’s makeshift, almost not-quite family before he’d even introduced himself properly.

Dick finally let go of Mar’i’s hand and Kory gave it a pat before she released the hand she held before they ushered her into the small drawing room. Bruce had thought that the young girl might be able to bring out something better in Damian, even though he seemed like he was all corners and rough edges. Nothing that Mar’i might be able to get a hold of.

Or so Dick thought. The first words that left the boys mouth were insulting. He looked upon a girl whose face practically announced innocence, the long, lustrous black hair told him that she probably cared more about her looks (even at the age of seven) than she did about combat, and the flowered dress was just childish.

Even though he was indeed looking on a child. The obvious passed over him entirely.

With a sneer, the boy opened his mouth to say something to the girl that had been presented to him. ”What? Don’t you have eyes?" Mar’i’s mouth twisted into something resembling a frown, her mother had taught her not to give in to stupid taunts like that. ”You must be as deaf as you probably are blind, mutt.”

But her mother had never said she couldn’t defend herself against things that hurt. 

Before he’d even been able to open his mouth again, her leg flashed up and she’d caught his jaw with the most powerful spinning back kick that he’d ever received. So powerful that he’d ended up on the floor, hand cradling his jaw, bruised pride almost forgotten as he realized what had happened.

This girl - girl - had surprised him because he’d underestimated her. More than that, she’d actually hurt him.

Hardly anyone could do that.

Hardly anyone would do that.

Was that what love felt like?

That was the true beginning of their relationship and it was far from pretty. Far from the fairytale some of her friends had expected when they asked how they had met. But frankly, it was one of the most interesting things anyone could remember hearing

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This drabble compilation/challenge was a long journey and believe it or not, it was a little tough at times for me because it was so hard for me to keep my attention on it long enough for me to finish. So _please_ remember to leave a review or click the kudos button if you liked it because I really do want to hear your feedback.


	2. Accusation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Rating:** K+  
>  **Word Count:** 697  
>  **Universe:** New Earth (modified)  
>  **Ages:** Damian (24) Mar’i (21)

“Mar’i," the man groaned at his girlfriend, her crossed arms and rolling eyes inspiring the same reaction in him.

“What, Damian? What do you want to say to me?” Her words weren’t dripping with venom, they were practically exploding with anger. She knew that Damian wouldn’t cheat on her but every once in a while — considering this was the first time, it really was once in a while — she got jealous. She’d paid more attention to the gossip columns in the newspaper and magazines that involved her boyfriend more than she should have in the past week or so.

There’d been more than one picture of Damian and this girl, if you could call her that. Mar’i thought that she looked more like a thirty year old than a twenty-five year old, though. Older than her and older than Damian, if only by a year. She worked under her father and was training to take over the company one day, not unlike Damian was.

Except he was in line after Tim, who’d come back after Bruce had returned from “death” to continue learning about Wayne Industries. But because Tim had more important things to do, Damian had been used to kind of woo the other company through the daughter. That didn’t mean he was really wooing her it just meant that he had to get the other company to do business with them.

But that didn’t mean Mar’i was any less jealous. Here was a woman who got to spend more time with her boyfriend than she did.

At least in the past two weeks.

“Mar’i, if it wasn’t obvious enough, I am not dating this woman.” He rolled his eyes again as she scowled at him. “What do you want me to say? That there isn’t a need for me to spend time with her? That she isn’t attractive?” He’d uncrossed his arms, moving closer to her with every question as she moved away from him, eventually backing into the kitchen counter in their small apartment.

“I don’t know what I want you to say.” She still had her arms crossed and she looked up at him, peering through her lashes, a slight pout forming on her lips. And she really didn’t know what she wanted to hear. Her emotions were all over the place and as a result so was her mind, her thoughts jumped from one place to the next, unsure of what it wanted to do. Of what it wanted to hear. Of what it wanted from him.

Which resulted in Mar’i being unsure what she wanted from him exactly.

Damian reached for her, undid her crossed arms, and tugged her into his own. At first, she resisted but eventually she let him hold her. Eventually she relaxed into him and pushed her face into the crook of his neck, like she always did. It was her spot of safety. The place where she could breath him in and ignore the world.

“It was just work, Mar’i.” Damian buried his nose in her hair, his mouth just above her ear. “I promise that it was just work.”

“I know, I just — ” He interrupted her.

“Just what?” A murmur into her hair.

“I’ve never felt this way before. I’ve never been afraid of you enjoying someone’s company more than mine, I’ve just been afraid of you leaving me in a casket." They’d addressed her fear of death before (more correctly, her fear of loved ones dying) and her words came as no shock to him. Casket wasn’t a gruesome word, anyway, it wasn’t like it could evoke a reaction in him.

“Yes, it’s always me that’s jealous, isn’t it?”

Mar’i laughed quietly against his skin. “Yeah, it is. It feels weird.”

“Mm-hm.” He hummed in agreement and pulled back from her, a smile on his face as he let go and took hold of her belt loops instead. “It looks like I might have to make something up to you though.” His smile grew into a grin and he tugged on her belt loops as he took a step backwards in the direction of their bedroom.

It would be a very long afternoon.


	3. Restless

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Rating:** K+  
>  **Universe:** New Earth (modified)  
>  **Word Count:** 697   
> **Ages:** Damian (27) Mar’i (24)

She shifted again, this time rolling from one side to the other to face Damian. Mar’i hadn’t been able to sleep well at night for weeks. Since she’d found out that she had gotten pregnant there had been no such thing as a restful night. Her head swam with ideas of who they’d be, what they would accomplish, what could happen to them in a city like Gotham.

Even with all the precautions she and Damian were bound to come up with (and that he’d probably already come up with), she couldn’t be sure that their child would be completely safe. She’d had a relatively safe upbringing because she’d lived in New York for most of it. New York City itself was dangerous but not in the way Gotham was. No, nothing was dangerous the same was as Gotham was.

It was like it had its own claim on the word 'danger' and there was nothing that could touch it.

If she thought about it too much she was terrified. Terrified for her growing family, terrified for herself, and terrified of what it might mean for her and Damian. Being worried for her family and being worried for her relationship were two different things but they seemed to manifest in the same way. Losing Damian meant losing half of herself and half of her family.

Again, if she thought about it too much she was terrified. Being pregnant, being with child, was supposed to be a momentous occasion. It was supposed to delight her, fulfill some need she didn’t even know she had.

Or something like that.

Mar’i sighed and watched Damian, eyes taking in the moonlight on his skin. It highlighted his cheekbones, making his eyes look like they were deeper set than they were in actuality. Some of the light laid on his jaw, some on his neck, bands of it were on his fingers. The shadows on his chest and stomach shifted with every breath he took. Watching him was all that helped her sleep at night but even then, her mind started going and she couldn’t calm it. 

Would they have his eyes or hers? Would they need to hide the way she’d had to her entire life or could they walk among men without pretense? She wasn’t sure what she wanted for them. She was proud to be equally Tamaranean and human and to look like she was both but she wasn’t proud that she had to hide herself in this xenophobic world. She didn’t want that for her child.

If they could have her abilities and his looks, they would be in a world that would open up to them. Cater to their every whim. Help them through doors that had been hard to pass through for her.

Mar’i slid her fingers through his, her own hand sharing the spot of moonlight with his. There was no point in wondering about things she had no control over. Yet, she did it anyway. Almost every night without fail. She wouldn’t be disappointed if her child looked like her, with the characteristic eyes of Tamaran but she would be sad that they would have to hide themselves from the world like they were ashamed.


	4. Snowflake

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Rating:** T   
> **Word Count:** 621   
> **Universe:** New Earth (modified)   
> **Age:** Damian (24) Mar’i (21) Colin (24)

Gotham in winter wasn’t always the prettiest sight. The snow went gray almost as soon as it touched the ground and it turned into a dirty slush filled with gravel soon after. The park clean up had gone well, it’d taken a few years but it was hospitable, beautiful, and it held a green house that had been dedicated to Bruce Wayne’s granddaughter.

As if she didn’t get enough attention already. It was one of the things that Damian had rolled his eyes at, the flashy show of affection was all that she was going to get from Bruce. It was better than some of what the other members of her family had gotten. Her father accepted a gift from him but hadn’t opened it in front of her and her mother had gotten a gift card, which wasn’t too bad but he most likely hadn’t even asked Alfred to buy something for Kory.

But Christmas was over and it didn’t matter anymore. Not to her, anyway, and not to Damian. He was satisfied with what she’d gotten for him and he was more than satisfied with what he had gotten for her. Something personal and beautiful, the locket she wore around her neck held a picture of the two of them at Titans Tower that she’d taken years ago.

Mar’i was brought out of her thoughts by a pair of strong arms that wrapped around her shoulders as the person they belonged to pressed himself against her back. Damian kissed the top of her head and let his eyes fall closed as he breathed her in.

“What are you thinking about, Beloved?” His voice was soft as he murmured against her hair. “You look very deep in thought.” 

She waited a second before answering, collecting her scattered thoughts into something resembling sentences. “Winter and Christmas. You. Snow. Just a few things.” She smiled gently as she looked on, watching Gothamites wander the park as they’d been doing while they waited for Colin to arrive. Which was taking longer than usual, he’d gotten a job recently and that seemed to take up most of his time. Half the time he came late to get togethers because he’d been working beforehand.

Like right now she supposed.

She could practically feel the smile on the back of her head. “Me? What are you thinking about me for, Mar’i?”

Mar’i grinned. “Why wouldn’t I be thinking about you, Damian?” Her answer was more than a little flirtatious, which was just the right amount when dealing with her boyfriend.

Damian kissed the side of her head a few times, making his way around it to her temple to lay one there. “Just a question.” Another smile against her face as Damian pressed his lips to her skin. God, even with her hologram ring her skin was beautiful. Slightly golden and a little shimmery when he got up close to it. He nipped at the tender skin of her jaw when he thought no one was looking, eliciting a giggle and a sigh from Mar’i’s lips.

“We’re in public, Damian.”

“Yeah, Damian, you’re in public.” The couple jumped as Colin made his presence known from behind them with a grin so large you could probably see it from space. "You shouldn’t do things like that in public, right, Damian?”

“Shut up, Wilkes.” Damian groaned and pulled away from Mar’i, the loss of warmth making him shiver just a bit as they both turned towards their friend. “Why is it that you choose this very moment to show up?”

“Well, if I hadn’t shown up, I might have found you two in a very compromising position in the snow. Be grateful I showed up when I did.”


	5. Haze

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **Rating:** T  
>  **Word Count:** 958   
> **Universe:** New Earth (modified)   
> **Age(s):** Mar’i (18), Damian (20), Dick (38)  
>  **Notes:** If any of you remember my drabble challenge from last year (the one I failed so horribly at) then you’ll recognize that this is kind of recycled. It’s really only the idea, different devices and dialogue, I swear.

“Robin!” There was a shout of his name and then a hacking cough. There’d been an accident in downtown Gotham, well, not quite an accident. More of a purposeful release of toxins that caused respiratory distress in those that had inhaled it accidentally, Mar’i and Oracle’s guess that it was plant based and released by Poison Ivy.

That was the most prevalent guess and the one with the most founding. That or it had NH3 in it, or ammonia, which could cause respiratory distress in humans if vapors containing it were breathed in. That wasn’t even the worst case scenario.

No, the worst case scenario was happening currently. They’d gotten most of the remaining civilians out of the danger zone, cleared the buildings, and they’d gotten a news crew to cover the event - X’hal that made it sound like some sort of charity ball - and get it out to the rest of the city. That wasn’t the bad part, obviously.

The bad part was the fact that they couldn’t find Damian was the worst part and Mar’i was wandering around without a breathing apparatus trying to locate him. His comm-link had fallen out somewhere along the line and it’d been crushed by someone, Oracle wasn’t able to track the signal it usually gave off. That could always mean that he’d turned it off to better deal with the situation at hand (even though that was a terrible idea) but it was more likely that in the panic it’d been jarred loose somehow.

“Robin!” She called out again as she wandered through the greenish haze. Mar’i’s right hand hugged her ribs as her left sliced the thick air in front of her to try and give her a better line of sight.

Or one that existed at all. She breathed too deep and gave another hacking cough that jarred her ribs. They weren’t out of place by any means and they weren’t cracked, thank God, but her lungs burned like she was a victim of a house fire. Which, she might as well be at this point.

Breathing was hard, her vision was hazy even without the addition of the combination of smoke and gas, and her legs were growing weaker with every step. But she had to find Damian. Mar’i set her jaw and grit her teeth, there was no way she was giving up when she was this deep in the danger zone. The girl stood as straight as she possibly could (later she’d hate herself for not flying out of it or for not staying as low as she could) with her burning lungs and tired legs.

Through the smoke, just before she fell to her knees, legs and lungs exhausted from trying to keep her upright in the haze without any kind of breathing apparatus, Mar’i heard shouting that seemed to have returned her own finally. She’d given her own two breathing apparatus’ to a mother and son, cursing herself for not bringing more but she hadn’t had the foresight.

Mar’i’s eyesight seemed to flicker in and out as her eyelids closed, shutting out the world and it’s chaos for a few minutes as her body was jostled into someone’s arms and out of the danger zone. A breathing apparatus was shoved into her mouth and she was laid on a stretcher gently. Oh so gently. Her eyelids fluttered open, softer than the previous flickering.

The first thing she laid eyes on was her father, hovering over her. To anyone else, he would have seemed calm, if serious, but to her he was anxious. Filled with the emotion, honestly. She could see it in the way his shoulders tensed, the way his jaw was set. Slight relief came over his face when he saw she’d opened her eyes, the oxygen mask that had replaced the breathing apparatus impeded her speech but she tried to croak out the name of her loved one anyway.

Nightwing (thinking about her dad in the hero context had been drilled into her, it was easier to think of him as Nightwing instead of Damian as Robin) held up a hand and shushed her, not aloud but it felt like it.

“He’s fine, Nightstar.”

Mar’i breathed a sigh of relief, fogging up the oxygen mask, and relaxed into the stretcher.

Her father continued. “He made it out just after you went in to search, you two must have just missed each other. He went back in to get you, though. Robin’s the one who handed you over to me.” His brow was still stern as he told her the facts but it softened almost imperceptibly. “And when you’re better and we’re home, the two of us are going to have a very long and serious talk about safety protocols. Understood?”

Mar’i nodded, eyes as downcast as they could be while laying down. That would be a long, long talk and hopefully her mother would be there to soften the blows her father delivered. The first words that came to mind were 'irresponsible' and 'stupid.' Those were probably the first words that came to her father’s mind, too. Somewhere before or after 'scared' and 'anxious.' Her dad’s worry came with consequences because she did stupid things.

She lost track of time while concentrating on her breathing and getting lost in her thoughts, before she knew it Damian was by her side, helping a paramedic roll her into an ambulance. She knew she hadn’t sat there for very long but it seemed like an eternity. Nightwing had given the direction apparently, fearing that the gas could have damaged her worse than it had the humans.

Mar’i knew she’d be fine, though, especially when a firm hand slipped through hers and squeezed.


	6. Flame

**Notes for the Chapter:**

>  **Rating:** K  
>  **Word Count:** 1173  
>  **Age(s):** Damian (19) Mar'i (17) Dick (37) Kory (38)  
>  **Notes:** I drew a little more inspiration from the prompt than usual, so I might use the words ‘flame’ and ‘fire’ a little more often than I should.

Damian had observed her from afar since their first meeting as children, sometimes he came close but each time he did he felt burned somehow. Would it be horribly cliche to compare her to an open flame? Dangerous, beautiful, and intriguing. Somehow she caught everyone’s attention no matter how crowded a room was and she kept it.

She was a flame. There was no comparison, she burned bright and steady. Never wavering, never giving a hint that she might be nervous or unsure. And God, that was the most beautiful thing he’d ever seen.

Maybe that was why he could barely talk to her when she came around. His eyes were too occupied with looking into her own emerald green ones that he couldn’t string together coherent sentences and thoughts. It came out as impersonal, sometimes slightly angry, other times sullen. He personified Batman at times and not on purpose, not when he wanted to. But she always shrugged and turned around to go do something else, not even betraying that he may have hurt her.

And he probably hadn’t, he probably wasn’t even a blip on her radar. Her grandfather’s biological son that she rarely spent more than a few hours with outside of family dinners. Damian swirled the champagne in his glass with a sigh and half-watched the revelry taking place, all the while scanning the room for Mar’i. She was supposed to be here by now, Dick had said they were arriving at eight o’clock and he was occasionally on time. Sometimes he ran a bit late and other times he ran later than a little bit on time.

But it was now eight-thirty. The New Year’s ball had started two hours before and even if he had difficulty talking to Mar’i, it would be nice to have even some companionship. Especially if that companionship was the woman he was half in love with. Not that he would ever admit that out loud, that would make it too real.

Damian checked his watch impatiently. They should be here by now. He took a sip from the glass of champagne, making a face at the bitterness. It should be sweeter, it was a sweet white for God’s sake. His eyes flicked up just as Mar’i entered. It seemed to him that a slight hush fell over the room, people turned to look at her and her family. Her mother was as beautiful as ever, Dick had cleaned himself up, and Mar’i..

Mar’i looked amazing. A floor length gown had been created out of various shades of green tulle, her hair had been swept up into an up-do of some sort, and she had elbow length gloves that accented it all. But he didn’t care about that, he cared about talking to her at least once tonight. He cared about trying not to let his knees go weak at the prospect of dancing with her. He cared about looking into her eyes and trying to discern what she thought about him and what was going on behind them.

He took in a sharp breath, set his glass of champagne down, and straightened his tux jacket before making his way over to her. He didn’t stop to make sure that his bow tie was straight, that didn’t matter right now. The family saw him coming, his strides purposeful but graceful, slow enough that it was still socially acceptable but fast enough that he would be able to make it over to her within only a minute. Dick waved at him and motioned to him to go their way (as if he wasn’t already) and no doubt he would have to endure minutes of small talk before he could ask Mar’i to dance.

“Hey, Dame.” Dick shook his hand, stance and tone as casual as Dick could get. “How’s the ball going?”

“Ahh..”

Dick raised an eyebrow. “That bad?”

The teen shook his head. “No, it’s been going fine. Good, actually. But I came over to..to..” Damian’s eyes flicked over to Mar’i quickly and back to Dick.

Dick raised both eyebrows instead of just the one. “To do what?”

“I came over to ask Mary to dance, sorry, Dick.” He almost spit the words out in his haste and almost missed the look of surprise and confusion that came over Mar’i’s face. The last time they’d danced at an event like this was when he’d been forced to when she was ten. She turned to look at her mother who only looked back and shrugged without an answer.

Dick motioned with his hand towards Mar’i, a slight smile on his face. “Then maybe you should ask her, Damian.”

Damian almost kicked himself. “Right, uh..” he turned to Mar’i, whose face still boasted slight confusion but with an added hint of ‘laughing internally at Damian.’ “Mary, would you like to - uh - dance?” He had an urge to loosen his bow tie, it was practically choking him now, but he didn’t want to look more nervous than he already was.

He was never awkward. Damian Wayne was always suave and smooth, a miniature version of his father. He watched Mar’i, who turned to shrug at her mother as the woman looked on with a smile and linked her arm through Dick’s.

“Sure, why not?” She answered calmly and extended a hand to him.

He was close to breathing a sigh of relief but held it in. “Thank you, Mar’i.” Damian took her hand and led her out to the dance floor, then placed a hand on her waist and kept his grip on her other hand as she placed her other on his shoulder.

“Well, considering this is the first time you’ve ever asked me to dance, I decided that I shouldn’t let the opportunity just fly by.” Mar’i grinned at him, taking him off guard completely as his ears turned red. Only slightly red.

“I - uh - I thought that you might want to dance and I seem to be the only eligible partner in the vicinity.” He cleared his throat awkwardly. “Everyone here is thirty years of age and older aside from the two of us.”

Mar’i nodded. “Ah,” her tone was slightly disappointed and slightly uninterested as she looked away to scan the room. 

Damian scrambled for something that would keep her attention. “I also thought that you might like a competition, to see who is the better dancer between the two of us.’ His small, nervous smile turned into something resembling a mischievous grin. “That is, if you’re up for it?”

“Oh if I’m up for it?” His grin was infectious and pretty soon she was grinning too. “I’ll beat you so bad you’ll be crying for a week, Damian.”

“Then put your money where your mouth is, Mary, show me what you’ve got.”

—————————————————————————————————————————————-

Damian highly regretted that comment the next morning when he was so sore he could barely move, apparently challenging a princess to a dance off was not the smartest thing he could have done.


	7. Companion

"I pledge, in honesty and sincerity, to be for you a faithful and helpful husband." Damian's thumbs brushed over Mar'i's knuckles as he looked into her eyes. He recited the traditional Muslim wedding vows - even if he wasn't religious, he was Arabic, his mother had insisted - and Mar'i had thought of her own. In comparison, his seemed a little boring and a little bare bones but they were traditional. 

But Mar'i's had been one of the most beautiful things he'd ever heard. She'd put her thoughts and feelings out into the air for everyone to hear, in front of their parents (Talia wasn't allowed on the Watchtower for some very legitimate reasons, so she watched from a monitor) and some select friends. Mar'i's closest friends and part of her parents' Titans roster. Damian had chosen Colin. Clark and Lois had been invited as well. Just a select group of people that could be trusted with their identities.

They hadn't been able to find a priest, which had prompted Robbie to become ordained, just for this event. Mar'i was practically his cousin and definitely his family, that called for something special right?

He smiled at the two softly before continuing. With the way Damian looked at her, he knew she'd be happy with her choice. "Well, with that over with," he grinned as laughter rippled throughout the room. "I now pronounce you, man and wife." He cleared his throat. "So uh -Kiss your guy, Ri."

And she did just that. She pulled Damian forward, hands grasping at his face as she as his arms wrapped around her. The fervor she'd displayed had surprised Damian whose eyes went wide before he'd relaxed into and it had obviously surprised her father, who could be seen frowning slightly in the crowd as Kory placated him. Sure, this was Mar'i's wedding day and he should be happy (which he was) but he could never quite get used to them being affectionate in front of him.

Even at her wedding.

The rest of the night passed in a blur for everyone who attended, especially the bride and groom. The end of the night came too soon for them, Mar'i wanted more time with her friends and family, Damian wanted a little more time dancing with her. The night was something bittersweet for them, even though they'd been living together for some time, they were still passing from one part of their life to the next. Dick and Kory were sending their daughter off into a new life that didn't include them in most of it's large aspects, her friends prepared to see less of her than they had in years and months prior.

All the couple prepared to do was have a long and happy life together. They were sent off by the entire wedding party and were allowed, just this one time, to take a league cruiser down to Earth to enjoy a honey moon on one of Bruce's private islands. They'd be there for a month, enjoying each other's company and exploring the island.

Mar'i could only think of one way to make the trip better but going to Tamaran was out of the question for now. It was too far away and they'd already had their Tamaranean marriage ceremony.

But an island in the Caribbean was almost as good as Tamaran.

And it would have to suffice.


	8. Formal

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm kind of done with the little info things at the beginning, if you have any questions about what universe they're in or what ages they are (or anything else) feel free to message me! I'm always available at my tumblr [flyingnightstar](http://flyingnightstar.tumblr.com/) as well as my personal tumblr [natwing](http://natwing.tumblr.com/). This chapter didn't turn out so well, mostly from a lack of inspiration whoops. Hope you all enjoy it anyway!

You know," Mar'i glared at Damian pointedly in the gap between her words. "When I asked you to be my prom date, I imagined it with less pain."

Damian snorted. "And I imagined that you would cancel this ridiculous night and I would be free to spend it doing something else." Mar'i watched him roll his eyes as he looked over her classmates. He still looked good with a scowl on his face and his arms crossed, it was so unfair. It took her two hours to look this good. "Who put this together? Tula?" The boy motioned to the decorations around them. 

"It's supposed to be a 'night under the sea,' Damian, it isn't that bad." The glare was still firmly fixed on her face, never wavering. When she asked Damian to be her date, she'd expected a fairly painless night. Only God and X'hal knew why she would expect that. "It's -" She looked around and gestured towards the streamers. "Well it isn't horrible. And it wouldn't have been my choice if I'd gotten a vote."

"And what would your choice have been?" He raised an eyebrow, eyes just barely taking her in from the side.

Mar'i shrugged. "I don't know. Just not -" she gestured around again. "This."

"So you agree that it's terrible and should have been stricken from their list of themes?"

She rolled her eyes. "No, I don't hate it like you seem to. It's just not my favorite dance theme. I liked the nineteen-twenties theme they had last year better but that's not important. Now are you going to stand there like a piece of wood or are you going to dance with me like a date is supposed to?"

Damian eyed the dance floor, almost bored in the way he took the couples in. This wasn't how he'd been taught to dance; his mother had the best teachers come in to teach him traditional dances of their cultures as well as some of the more popular ballroom dances of the west. These dancers were slightly uncoordinated in their movements, they didn't match the other dancers on the floor. Some danced to a slightly different beat than the others and he wasn't sure how that would happen.

Rhythm was something innate, all humans had it. To see a lack of it was slightly disturbing. He opened his mouth to answer Mar'i, who seemed to be growing more impatient by the second, just as a slow song came on.

He'd seen movies, if he said yes now he'd be trapped in a five minute long awkward dance where they held each other close. But now that he looked at Mar'i and took her in, that wouldn't be half bad. Even with the slight scowl that was affixed to her face.

That and he would be a horrible date if he didn't dance once. The gossip columns expected him to be suave and smooth, it added to his identity anyway. If Robin was serious, Damian was charming. That combined with the fact that he didn't want to make Mar'i look bad in front of people she probably didn't care about impressing, he felt that it was his duty to at least give one dance.

Just one.

"Fine," he held out a hand to the seated girl. "But just one dance, Mar'i." He held up a finger as if to emphasize. "One."

She rolled her eyes and took his hand, pulling herself up easily. "Whatever you say, Damian." She didn't even mention the fact that he was using the wrong version of her name, the teen noted. 

It was a short walk from the table to the dance floor and Damian tugged Mar'i onto it quickly but almost gracefully. He took her right hand before she had a chance to rest it on his shoulder, there would be none of that improper dancing. He felt Mar'i straighten up slightly as he pressed a hand against her back.

"Relax, it's just my hand."

"I am relaxed." She placed a hand on his shoulder, annoyance clear on her face. "I'm just not used to dancing like this." The music was still loud enough that no one could hear them murmuring back and forth to one another, slightly aggravated and slightly intrigued by the other.

"Whatever you say, Mar'i." He swayed where he stood, taking her with him whenever he moved. They stayed that way until the end of the song, only a little closer than they had been at the beginning, and they'd fallen silent. The silence wasn't due to disinterest, it was due to distraction. Neither had quite realized how nice it was to look into the other's eyes before.

They were startled apart as the DJ stopped the song abruptly, switching to something louder and more raucous than the previous song. If he was trying to dispel the awkward feeling, he was failing, it only made things worse. Mar'i straightened her dress and looked up only to see Damian walking away.

"Hey!" She called out to him over the din. "Come back!"

He held up a hand and turned. "I said one dance, Mar'i."

She shrugged. "Well, one more might not hurt right?"

Damian rolled his eyes and tried to think of an excuse. "I don't know how to dance to this." Well, that wasn't too far from the truth. Just from looking around he gathered that there was no true way to dance to music like this. Whatever it was.

He eyed the hand that Mar'i had reached out to him. "Then I'll teach you."

Damian could say no. He could also say yes. But saying yes required far more work. He looked at Mar'i, then down at her hand, and back up at her face. Her look wasn't quite pleading but it struck a chord in him. Her large green eyes, somehow less expressive with her hologram projection over her face, stared into his and made him think. "I suppose it would benefit me to understand how to dance to this." He gestured vaguely into the air and let her take his hand.

What had he gotten himself into?


	9. Move

"Is that the last of the boxes?" Mar'i asked as she turned in the doorway to look at Damian. The box in her hands wasn't heavy (well nothing was, really, not for her) but he didn't want her to carry anything heavier and she'd reluctantly agreed to carry it, if only to spare him some extra worry.

"Yes, Mar'i, these are the last of them. Now shoo," he raised his knee playfully, pushing her out the door gently. "Your friends are probably getting annoyed that they've had to wait so long."

"Our friends, Damian." She called over her shoulder as she made her way to the stairs, trying to be as quick as she could just in case her husband noticed the direction she was going in. And as if on cue, he opened his mouth to tell her just what he thought of where she was going.

"Mar'i, the doctor said no strenuous activity -"

"And yet, we're moving in the middle of my pregnancy." She turned to give him the look. "I get that you want the best for me and that this is going to be our first child, but I think you need to give me a little space." She took a tentative first step onto the flight of stairs. "Okay?"

Damian sighed sharply through his nose. "Please be careful."

She shrugged her shoulders, still descending the stairs as he followed her down them. They'd had a scare a few weeks before they'd started moving. Mar'i had a bad case of the braxton hicks while she was visiting Damian for lunch. He'd had to call for an ambulance and even then, he'd thought about picking her up and sprinting to the hospital with her in his arms.

Not the best choice but when your loved one was in pain, what else would you think about doing? They'd both thought the contractions were real but the doctor assured them that they weren't the real thing, they were only 'practice' contractions. Something about the way the doctor talked to them had rubbed Damian the wrong way, as if because they were first time parents they were to be talked down to like they were children. He was twenty-seven, Mar'i was twenty-four, and they were both successful and educated individuals. There was no need for the doctor to treat them like children, even if he had thirty years on the couples he dealt with.

He was still thinking about their hospital visit when Mar'i dropped the box with a soft exclamation before clutching at her belly, her other hand gripping the railing for stability. Damian dropped his own boxes in his haste to reach her and placed his own strong hands on both of her arms, effectively keeping her up.

"Are you -"

Mar'i tried to wave him off with the hand that had been gripping the railing. "I'm okay, it was just a kick. Nothing to be worried about, Damian." She smiled - albeit a bit weakly - at him before she stood up a little straighter to lean on him for more support. "They're just a little strong, that's all."

Damian's jaw clenched and his eyes fell shut. So he'd overreacted. Again. Not a big deal, right?

"Hey," Mar'i said softly as her fingertips brushed over his jaw. "Look at me."

He listened to her, eyelids flicking open as his eyes found her own.

"We'll be fine. I know that it's a little scary when things like this happen," Damian snorted in the middle of her sentence and she gave him another look. "Okay it's really scary but I'm okay. Our baby is okay." Her thumb brushed over his cheek when she moved her hand to cup his jaw. "Okay?"

Damian leaned into her palm slightly, still looking into her eyes. "Okay." His voice was a low almost-whisper when he spoke and he nodded at the ground before repeating himself in the same almost-whisper. "Okay."

"Okay." Mar'i looked over at the boxes and spilled clothing that lay strewn on the steps. At least there had been nothing breakable. "Now I guess we have to clean up."

Her husband kissed her temple and let her go. "I'll pick this up, you go wait downstairs. Remember, no strenuous activity." Damian shooed her, previous dark emotions all but forgotten as he flashed a grin at her.

"Alright, you win. No strenuous activity." She put up her hands, as if in defeat, and started down the stairs again before turning back one last time. "I guess this means our evening plans are canceled, then?"

Damian stopped in the middle of picking up a shirt and was startled into another grin. "Most definitely not, Mar'i."


	10. Silver

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> -psst- If you guys didn't know, the origins of silver and gold wedding anniversaries dates back to the Roman Empire when husbands would crown their wives with silver wreaths on their twenty-fifth wedding anniversary and a gold wreath on their fiftieth!

Damian scrolled down the google search page he'd pulled up just a few seconds before, eyes flicking from the phone screen to the jewelry counter and back. Was that a silver ring? No, he huffed, it was white gold. Not suitable enough.

What kind of anniversary was that? Silver? Who even wore silver anymore, it tarnished easily and was difficult to take care of. It seemed impractical, especially when he could get her something more beautiful in a precious metal like platinum. Except, their platinum wedding anniversary had passed five years ago.

Five years. How had they gone so quickly? Damian jumped, jerked out of his thoughts by the ringing cell phone in his hand. The screen was filled with a picture of his daughter and the name at the top read 'Lil'i Flower' as she'd programmed the nickname into his phone.

"Yes, habibati?" He answered, voice weary from simply looking at jewelry. Who knew that could happen?

"Morning, Baba." He could hear shuffling in the background as his daughter answered back and a male voice. No doubt her newest boyfriend, maybe they'd be get to meet him this time. "Why do you sound so tired?"

Damian sighed. "I'm trying to find a gift for your mother." He took another cursory glance at the jewelry counter before glancing over the crowds. "And failing miserably."

"What are you looking for?"

"Something beautiful and silver but I think I should go to Tiffany's." He looked down at his watch. "I can't find anything with enough meaning." As if he could he possibly find something to symbolize twenty-five years worth of love and marriage. Something with their initials on it?

Maybe Lil'i would know.

"Well, I think I've had better luck organizing the party. Half the league's coming - not including retirees - and I've gotten all of the Titans from your team and Grandma and Grandpa's team to come and help set up." She said as a shuffle of paper filled Damian's ear, most likely Lil'i's list that she'd been keeping since he'd asked her to help with the party. Mar'i had no clue what was being prepared. "But it's in a week, Dad, how have you not gotten her a present yet?"

The man scowled and stuck his hand his pocket, almost like he was still a teenager. "It's been difficult, Lil'i, I want it to be perfect."

"You know she'll love anything you get her, right?"

"Yes, Lil'i, I know."

"Just making sure, Dad."

They said their goodbyes and Damian continued wandering the mall looking for something. It was at the end of the day that he finally wandered into Tiffany's and immediately caught the attention of a saleswoman who helped him pick something out that she believed Mar'i would like. He said no, however, and opted for something more personal. He'd had a jewel from Tamaran cut into a certain style a few weeks before, which was why he'd had so much trouble finding exactly what he'd needed. He'd ordered a setting from the jewelers that fit it perfectly and as he'd thought earlier, he'd had their initials engraved into the inside of the band.

This would be their best anniversary yet.


	11. Prepared

Mar'i sighed as she stepped out of her pumps and onto the plush carpet of her apartment. She didn't need to be in heels with how tall she was but she needed to follow a certain dress code for the lab and has anyone actually been successful in finding a cute pair of flats? She dropped her purse by the couch and draped her coat over the back of it before collapsing into the cushions.

She settled in and pulled a pillow over to her and pushed her face into it. Until Damian got home, this would have to make do in replacement. Unless - 

Was that the sound of a knife against wood? Mar'i's head lifted from the pillow as she listened closer. Their building was as secure as it got in Gotham city and they'd added their own improvements to the separate security system that their dwelling had. There couldn't be someone who didn't have a key and the passcode in the apartment.

She swung her legs over the edge of the couch and pushed herself off of it, her sore legs protesting as she started walking towards their kitchen. "Damian," she called out. "Are you home?"

The sounds of the knife stopped and he came into view as she reached the doorway at the same time he did. "Obviously." He grinned and tugged her to him, into the light, and placed his hands on her waist. "I heard you come in but I thought I'd wait to come out until after I was done."

Done with what? Mar'i asked herself just as the smell of cooking oil reached her nose. Oh, he was cooking. Of course. She looked over his shoulder to try and see what it was but Damian pushed her shoulders down gently.

"It's a surprise, Love, don't look until it's out on the table." He leaned in to kiss her softly, his lips sticking to hers slightly as he pulled away. "Please?" His voice had lowered, slightly husky from the want that only one kiss had inspired in him.

Mar'i kissed him again before answering and sighed dramatically. "Fine," she nipped at his bottom lip lightly. "I'll go and languish on the couch while you chop and sear and do whatever it is you're doing." Her finger flicked up his t-shirt before she turned out of the kitchen and made her way back to the couch.

It was fifteen minutes total until Damian came out and laid on top of her, kissing her jaw and neck. "Mm," she rubbed her eyes as he smiled into her neck. "Is it ready already?"

"Already? It's only been fifteen minutes, Mar'i." He grinned and let his chin rest on her chest.

"Can't I sleep for a bit longer?" Her words were distorted by a yawn as Damian rolled his eyes.

"No, you can't sleep for a 'bit longer,' Mar'i. You'll end up falling asleep for six hours and I'll feel too bad to wake you." He rolled off of his fiancee and onto his feet, then reached down and scooped her up.

"Damian!" She squealed as he held her tighter against his chest and started to walk towards their dining room. "I can walk myself!"

"Yes but it's more fun this way." His grin spread across his face as she protested. "Would you rather I drop you?"

The woman rolled her eyes as he set her down and she sat. "No, I wouldn't rather you drop me, Damian."

He waved her off and grabbed their plates from the counter, setting Mar'i's down first and sitting. Mar'i breathed in deep, taking in the mix of smells coming from the plate. He'd cooked a Mediterranean pasta dish with shrimp and she was secretly thanking Alfred as she bit into the delicious meal.

"This is really good." She had a hand over her full mouth as she complimented him, she just couldn't wait to tell him.

"Just like me." He grinned and took a pointed bite as Mar'i rolled his eyes.

"Boastful, are we?"

"Well I have a reason to be, right?" He raised an eyebrow at her as she shook her head with a suppressed smile (no reason to give him even more of an ego boost).

"We'll see."


	12. Knowledge

Mar'i turned the evidence over in her hands, looking for anything they might have missed that she could pick up with her eyes. Sometimes her advanced eye sight came in handy but right now it wasn't. She could spot things from miles away and pick up colors that regular humans couldn't but she couldn't pick up anything on the piece of evidence that Damian and her father had already gone over.

She sighed and handed it back to Damian. "Sorry, Robin, no dice." 

Damian took it back without a word and deposited it in an evidence bag he'd pulled from his utility belt.

Dick clapped her on the shoulder before moving forward, stepping onto the edge of the building. "You tried your best, Nightstar. But it's time to head back, you two." He pointed at Mar'i. "You have school in the morning, Kid."

"Yeah, I know, Dad. The laws of reality weren't suspended." She waved him off and did a little jump into the air as Dick and Damian jumped onto the next building and the next, and then the next. Each time Dick got a little more creative, doing a flip or a handspring, each time going a little higher than the last but getting more and more precise as he went. Mar'i turned her head to watch every few minutes as they got steadily closer and closer to Firewall.

The cave wasn't an option tonight, it was too far away, but Firewall was right where they needed it to be. She kept her head forward for the rest of the flight, listening to some of the banter between her father and Damian.

She could only hear snippets of it but some of it wasn't banter, some of it was Damian asking questions of Dick but she couldn't quite tell what. Probably just asking about what her dad was doing and why. Acrobatics were his thing (well, their thing) and he did them well, maybe Damian was asking for some pointers.

Mar'i snorted as she came to a stop to land; as if Mister Perfect would ask for pointers. even from Dick Grayson, conceivably one of the best acrobats the world had to offer.

The next thing Mar'i knew, they were inside Firewall safely and going over the evidence they'd collected at the crime scene. The tests weren't telling them anything they didn't already knew, so she started to wander. There were things in Firewall she'd had no idea even existed within the walls of it. They fit a car in there for God's sake, what other things did they store in here? Extra utility belts? Backup costumes? Clones?

Okay, maybe that was going a bit far.

She leaned on one of the railings that seemed to be all over the place when Damian brushed up against her, practically jolting her out of her thoughts of hidden secrets within Firewall.

"Mar'i," he seemed to speak out of the side of his mouth and she rolled his eyes at the almost customary greeting.

She looked at him pointedly. "Damian."

If he could look anything other than deadpan under his mask, what with how stiff it was, Mar'i guessed he'd look annoyed. "Would you rather I ask you about how your day was and whether or not you got that cute boy to look at you?" His voice pitched higher - still sarcastic and slightly jealous - at the last part, imitating the voice of the only friend of her's he'd ever met.

She rolled her eyes and turned around, setting her elbows on the railing to prop herself up against it. "Chill out, Boy Wonder, it's not like you've been replaced."

"Yes but there haven't been any Arabic lessons as of late." He turned towards her, his eyes only slightly visible under the opaque lenses of his mask. "I'm beginning to think you've found better prospects."

Mar'i snorted. "Right. You can be annoying sometimes, with the whole 'perfection' thing but I'm not going to replace you. That's stupid. I've just been busy." The teen crossed her arms and stood up straight. "Besides, there's been some great benefits that I've gained from our shared knowledge. I'm one of six kids who speaks Arabic at school, I don't think I'd give up learning it just because of that fact." She smiled impishly, her lips still pressed together.

Damian moved forward and reached out a hand to pull her closer. She let him settle it on her hip and moved a fraction of an inch closer, looking into his eyes from under the fringes of her lashes.

"I think more of those lessons could be arranged easily, Mar'i." He angled his head to the side slightly.

"Oh yeah?" She moved forward slightly, angling her own head opposite of his. Mar'i's lids dropped half way just as his own closed.

They got closer

and closer

and closer -

"Hey, what are you kids doing back there!" Dick's shout echoed through Firewall, jolting Damian and Mar'i apart. "Change out of your costumes, Mar'i still has school tomorrow!"

Mar'i took a shaky breath and shouted back just as quick as he'd shouted. "I know, Dad!" She sighed and pushed away from Damian more than she already had. "Later, okay?"

The boy sighed and nodded as he watched her walk away. "Later."


	13. Denial

Mar'i's arms were crossed across her chest tightly as she looked off the the side, a muscle in her jaw ticking ever few seconds. Damian looked on, half-aggravated and half-apologetic. Neither wanted to hear what the other had to say and neither wanted to say what the other needed to hear.

Damian was in denial, Mar'i was angry at him for it. It would be easy to turn away. It would be easier to turn away from her in the stead of facing her anger because he'd lied.

He hadn't even tried to disguise it. A bald-faced lie, that was what the phrase was. Undisguised and shameless.

Disgusting. 

But that didn't matter when it came to this. Damian could live with himself even if he'd lied. He steeled himself, eyebrows drawing downwards. Quick and painless as possible, he'd already gotten the lie out. He could do the rest. "You know that we can't be together in this profession, Nightstar."

Her eyes flashed upwards at the sound of her name, full of anger and he was sure they'd be crackling with energy if it were possible. Thank God it wasn't.

"You're a goddamn liar, Boy Wonder." She spat the words at him, managing to make the nickname sound like an insult. He'd seen this side of her before, she was full of fire - full of life - and she'd been known to say some interesting things. He noticed her jaw clench again before she continued and he crossed his own arms, mirroring her in stance, both standing tall and strong before the other.

"No, I'm not." He crossed his arms tighter, trying to make some sort of shield out of them. "You can't function optimally with people you care about in the field."

She leveled a stare at him, her own eyes boring into his. "Would you like to say that to all the men in arms? Or to my father and my mother? Or would you rather separate the entire Titans team so that we only do individual missions, Damian?"

Not that it mattered, considering Damian wasn't the leader but she needed something else to drive her point home. This entire conversation was stupid and their time could've been used for something more constructive. Like patrolling. The thing they were supposed to be doing instead of talking about the status of their non-relationship.

Damian huffed. "That isn't what I meant."

"I know that you meant people who are romantically involved but it hasn't hindered my parents so far. If it makes you feel better, I give you permission to keep going if I die in the field." Her tone was matter of fact when she said it. Mar'i had no illusions about what could happen to her. It had happened to more than a handful of heroes. They were memorialized after death, statues erected in cities and museums, thousands of mourners came and went.

Then there were the funerals. Where the heroes laid their loved one to rest.

That was what had always gotten to her. When they'd laid her aunt in the ground, that's when she'd felt the full force of the blow Donna's death had dealt. Mar'i didn't want that to happen to her loved ones but she knew it could happen.

She didn't want Damian to falter but she didn't want to give him up.

Damian's face contorted into anger, finally. "That isn't what I meant, Mar'i!"

"Identity!" Her interjection went unnoticed as Damian continued.

"It's just dangerous! I don't want to give you up but I don't want to put you in danger because I couldn't help you - or, or save you or whatever it was that Father told me could happen! I just can't remember but I don't want to give you up!"

His outburst left Mar'i with startled, wide eyes.

Slowly, she was able to find her words. "Well at least you aren't in denial."


	14. Wind

Mar'i's flight was always a sight to behold. She arced through the sky, turning and twisting, diving when he least expected her to before recovering her flight and shooting back up into the sky. In battle, she was fierce and sharp, and her flight emulated that to a degree. She was a black and purple streak when she flew into battle. Mar'i darted in and out, sharp and concise and exact in her flight.

She was beautiful in flight. Damian sighed and rubbed the back of his head, she was beautiful no matter what but when she was experiencing flight - there was something different about her. She exuded a raw, unbridled passion, almost literally glowing as she disappeared into the clouds.

Every once in a while she'd go past him as he sat in the field, low enough to cause a gust of wind to rustle the leaves in the lone tree and the tall grass he sat in. It was playful, he knew. Her way of keeping his attention or some such.

As if he'd ever take it off of her.

He sighed and sat back against the thick trunk of the tree to watch her some more. She wasn't that far off from him. Maybe fifty feet forward and sixty feet high now. Earlier, he hadn't been able to spot her but now it was easy. Maybe it's because she wanted to show off. His lips quirked into a smile as she threw herself into what looked like aerial gymnastics. Something that it seemed only she could do, as a trained gymnast and acrobat.

It was almost like she moved with the wind itself, or she was the wind. Every so often, he would see her stop and float on the breeze as if she was floating on top of water.

He hated repeating himself but she was absolutely beautiful. 

As free as the wind, almost like the breeze personified.

Amazing was really all he could call it.


	15. Order

They were both creatures of order. Damian's weaponry was in a certain order in the training room, his shirts were starched and hung up ordered by color, and his side of the bathroom sink was almost barren. Mar'i's cosmetics were in neat rows in her cabinet, her own weaponry hung neatly next to her husband's in the training room, but her lab was cluttered.

Some surfaces had traces of soil and others had various papers scattered across them. The one instance of clutter in her life of order, the one place she let herself be messy. But it was more than enough for Damian to tease her about.

Everything in their life was ordered except for Mar'i's lab and that was alright with her. Science was messy, no one had ever said it would be a clean endeavor, especially when working with plants like she did. Soil particulates clung to her when she left, even though she'd had her lab coat over her clothing the entire time she'd been at her workstation.

She'd always been concise and orderly, even more so as she'd gotten older. Even when she was messy in the lab, she was neat. The plants were ordered according to phylum and so on and so forth. Even if it looked like an unorganized and cluttered lab, she had her system.

And still, Damian teased her about the dirt under nails and the soil that was shaken off of her clothes when she stepped through their front door. When he found a petal in her hair after his lips had skimmed the skin of her shoulder and found the soft spot behind her ear, he teased. When he bit down on her earlobe and found flecks of dust in the grooves of her ear, he teased her.

The one thing that wasn't ordered in her life, he teased her about.

It was endearing, really, to find that his wife wasn't as perfect as he thought she was. But really, it was was her imperfections that made her perfect.


	16. Thanks

Mar'i's head fit into the crook of his neck like it had been made for her. Their hands fit together closely, fingers interlocking, skin sliding against the other's skin. His other hand fit snugly on her waist, almost like clothing in its closeness.

Their compatibility and closeness was something they were both thankful for. It was also something they craved. Once the need was fulfilled, it was sated. But once Damian had left or Mar'i had gone, the ache and longing for the other was almost too much to bear. Surprisingly, it was something else they were grateful for.

Not everyone had a soulmate. Hardly anyone had found what seemed to be their other half, the one soul in the world that fit so seamlessly with theirs.

Damian spun Mar'i out and back in, holding her against him for a few precious seconds, rocking to the music before letting her spin out of his arms and back into the dancing position they'd previously been in. Their limbs were heavy with the need to be close and they tried not to show it. Damian tried to keep the desperation from his face when he wasn't touching her but even this dance wasn't enough.

He wanted to hold her in the small hours. Pretend that they wouldn't have to leave for work in the morning because the darkness around them settled like a blanket. Keeping them safe from the outside world until Mar'i had to open the curtains for the small amount of morning sunlight that graced Gotham.

He would be thankful if that darkness lasted forever and if he could hold her close to him forever but that couldn't be. For now, he would give thanks that he could dance with her and hold her tight to him. Thankful that there was nothing to take him away from her in this moment.


	17. Look

Mar'i glanced over her shoulder to make sure the baby was where she'd left her. And she was, so the woman went back to her work. Her deadline was Monday and it was Thursday, there was time to finish this report for the higher ups who owned the lab she worked in.

Which was Wayne Industries. So, more likely than not the report was going to be sent to someone she knew and even if there was a mistake, she'd get off easy because almost everyone at the company knew who she was. Really, who wouldn't know Damian Wayne's wife? And Bruce Wayne's granddaughter. And Dick Grayson's daughter.

She'd made a name for herself in her own right but it was easier to be known when you were attached to someone else. Mar'i looked back at the baby again and found her crawling towards the end of her play pen, then watched her grab onto the bar at the top of the play pen and pull herself up.

She should be facing the baby, she knew that. Looking back every few minutes to check on her was time consuming and she had no idea what Lil'i was doing in the time that she had turned her back to the baby. Mar'i moved herself from the small table to the couch and situated her laptop on her legs, glancing up every so often to watch the little one. If she was being truthful - which she almost always was - Lil'i was her pride and joy.

If she could set aside her work and play with the baby, she would, but she had a deadline to work and if she had the weekend free she could spend more time with her family.

That was, if Damian would stop working for ten minutes to spend time with them. She glanced up from the play pen to the door, almost like she was waiting for Damian to walk through it. All this looking was making her tired but she had to power through this report, she had to keep going.

She finished the document finally, with too many looks at the baby and the door, and saved it.

Maybe if she looked at the door hard enough Damian would stop working.


	18. Summer

Tamaranean Summers were some of the best things Mar'i had experienced in her young life. They were beautiful and warm, absolutely perfect and a little humid - which was probably why so many Tamaraneans had big hair - and she'd never been able to share them with anyone.

Until now, at least.

She'd brought Damian with her. He'd been hard to convince at first but after a few weeks of thinking it over, he had agreed to come with her. If only he could keep in contact with Earth while they were away. Being away for two weeks on Tamaran, meant being away from Earth for a month. If he couldn't help as Robin, that meant he would help as Damian in any way he could.

Even if he was on vacation with the girl of his dreams.

Mar'i sighed and pushed her feet into the warm sand, pulling her sunglasses down to glance at her fiance. He was in the chair next to her and wasn't even paying attention to her or the surf that was lapping at the sand. He was only paying attention to the small glass tablet he held in his hands.

She took off her sunglasses and dropped them into the sand. "Damian," she turned in the air, twisting towards him, her hands finding his jaw quickly. She honeyed her voice and murmured to him as her lips brushed over his cheek. "Put down the work and pay attention to the vacation."

He sighed and moved his head away from her, causing Mar'i's hands to fall away, her face clouding with slight annoyance.

"You know that I have work to do, Mar'i." He shrugged and moved something on the tablet. 

Mar'i huffed and dropped into the sand. "You're on vacation for a reason. I didn't drag you across the solar system to be ignored and I'm sure that isn't what Gramps wanted when he told you to come out with me." She picked up her sunglasses and brushed the sand off of them, trying to distract herself. "But if you won't put down your work and relax, then I'll have fun on my own."

She left him on his own after that and spent the rest of the day in the waves and flew back to the palace on her own. He had a transport vehicle parked by the beach, if he wanted to come back, he only had to walk a few feet to find his transport.

Except by dinner, it seemed like he didn't want to come back. Knowing Damian, he was probably off brooding in the jungle just outside of the palace. He hardly ever got lost (meaning he never got lost) and the paths were clearly marked. Yes, they were dirt paths but that didn't mean they weren't visible. All throughout dinner, Mar'i had pushed the food around her plate, taking a bite here and there but never really eating.

So maybe leaving him by himself hadn't been the best decision. But sometimes her anger got the worst of her. She was fed up with being ignored in favor of work when there were people that took care of it for him. She was tired of trying to share her culture with Damian when all he did was scoff when someone spoke their mind.

She wasn't like those on Tamaran in some ways but in others, she excelled at being Tamaranean. She spoke her mind without pretense but her emotions were more bottled up. Maybe he just wasn't prepared to be around them because Mar'i was so different. She pondered these thoughts the rest of the night as she wandered the palace, confident that he would come back.

She just wasn't sure when.

Mar'i stopped to look up at the ceiling. The palace had changed since her mother's time. Tamaran had changed since her mother's time. After the rebellion, Komand'r had rebuilt the planet in a major way. Much of it had sustained damage from the wars and there was an entirely new generation that needed to be educated and trained.

Mar'i's aunt was a good ruler, even if she had a very checkered past. That didn't have anything to do with the crystalline ceiling she was staring at intently, though. The ceilings were interesting, the entire palace was really. It had a very organic feel to it. Wood and crystal and rock. In some places, vines grew up and around the structure, almost like the palace was being drawn into the jungle.

It was beautiful and much more true to Tamaran than the tech based palace of her mother's youth. That was another reason why she had thought Damian would rest here. Mar'i sighed and continued walking, her arms wrapping around her form as she found her way to their shared room through the winding halls. Her door slid open with a quick swipe over the hand recognition (they still held onto some basic tech in the palace) and she dropped onto the bed within seconds of entering.

She almost didn't notice the lips at her neck and the arm that draped over her waist casually.

Almost.

Mar'i kept her eyes squeezed shut as he kissed her skin, moving steadily closer and closer to her ear and the soft spot behind his jaw.

"Mar'i," her name was a low rumble, vibrating against her back as he pressed himself up against her back. "I - I'm sorry."

Her eyes shot open at the murmured apology. Damian apologizing? The Little Prince apologizing? What alternate world had she stepped into when she'd stumbled through their door? Mar'i pushed him away from her and sat up without a word, pondering his words for a second before looking at him.

"Did you just apologize?" Her brows rose, in shock and question. She had no idea what or who had replaced her fiance but she needed to know.

Damian's tongue darted out to wet his lips, an act of the nervous, then nodded. "I did."

Mar'i's mouth hung open slightly. "I - for what exactly?"

And it was Damian's turn for a raised brow. As if he didn't want to stoop to having to say what exactly he had done that had pulled the apology from him. "I've been working non-stop since we've arrived, is that not enough to garner an apology from myself?"

"You never apologize, Boy Blunder, that's what I'm confused about." She crossed her arms tight across her chest as he rolled her eyes.

"Then come here and let's see if we can clear up that confusion." He nodded his head, beckoning towards his side of the bed but she didn't budge. That wouldn't do. He moved towards her as she leaned back, turning her head away from him as his fingers tried to undo her crossed arms.

Except she was much, much stronger than him, those didn't budge either. He moved on, kissed her cheek, her jaw, her neck. When he kissed the spot behind her jaw, it elicited a small gasp from Mar'i and her arms fell apart.

Damian grinnd to himself, it would be a long night.


	19. Transformation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I wrote this drabble last night but I forgot to upload it to the archive. When I realized I hadn't uploaded it, it was already midnight and I was in bed watching Jane the Virgin. That's a deadly combination tbh. Anyway, here it is! Hope you guys enjoy and maybe tell me in the comments?

The transition they made from being slight rivals for her father’s attention to friends hadn’t been odd, they had spent a good amount of time together since he’d arrived. It wasn’t too unusual for rivals to become friends.

At least that’s what she had told herself at the time.

When their relationship had turned into something more than just friendship, she’d questioned herself. Her decisions. The choice to say yes to a date with him had taken more thought than her choice of college later on. It was a life changing decision. They would go from friends and teammates to romantic partners.

Then when it had gone from just dating to something more serious (though, with Damian, it was always more serious) she’d panicked. Well, not panicked but it had been close enough. Friendship was fine. Dating for fun was fine.

But the prospects of a long-term relationship scared her. One more person to get attached to. One more person to worry about when they were on patrol. If he died, she’d never get over it. But he’d convinced her to give it shot. It wasn’t the first time their relationship had undergone a transformation of some sorts.

And it was about to undergo another transformation. They were making a transition from a committed and serious relationship to another type of commitment.

Marriage was the next thing on the list.

Her friends had been the ones to keep her calm. To remind her that marriage was normal, the bonds of it weren’t constricting. But that still wasn’t what she was worried about. being tied to someone was fine with her but her old fears were what made her feel panicked. Afraid. She could live without him and go on, that much was true. But she wouldn’t do it without feeling loss each day just as keenly as the first.

But she didn’t have time to worry about that. Not when her life was about to undergo one the most important transformations she could imagine.


	20. Tremble

Their bed shook as violently contained tremors wracked Damian's body. His hands were wrapped in the sheets, knuckles white as he gripped them, his jaw clenching practically to the point of breaking. Mar'i was startled awake as his tremors got more and more violent and her hands fumbled for him in the dark before her eyes could adjust.

She found him quickly, careful not to wake him as she wrapped her arms around him tightly. He wasn't prone to seizures but he was prone to nightmares. The dreams were so bad that he had begun to slip out at night after she'd gone to sleep. Trying to give her a peaceful night but all it really did was make Mar'i worry more. 

His need to be self-sufficient and self-reliant wasn't unusual, it was something she understood actually, but it had started to worry her. They shared a bed, an apartment, and a life. No, they weren't married but they still shared more than enough. It meant that he shouldn't be afraid to rely on her further. To allow her to see what was causing him distress.

Mar'i rocked as he trembled, his hands scrabbling for purchase and finally clinging to the back of her shirt as if it was the only thing that could save him.

"Shh," she hushed him as he buried his face in her neck, his silent sobs wracking his body as the tremors had only minutes before. Mar'i rocked back and forth, almost as if he was a child to be protected rather than her boyfriend who had a nightmare.

His arms wrapped around her tighter as she stroked his hair. Something that had helped calm him in the past and something she hoped would do the same now.

They sat there like this, holding one another as tight as possible, for what seemed like forever. Centuries could have passed and they wouldn't have noticed anything but the pressure of the other's arms against their body. Finally, they pulled apart. Damian had calmed, his breathing was even and he could look upon her face without wanting to hide.

Mar'i brushed a stray hair from his forehead and looked at him. She took in his features before looking into his eyes, pleading silently for him to tell her what had happened.

Why he woke up in a cold sweat every night with his body trembling. 

He closed his eyes and leaned his face into the hand she'd placed on it.

"It was the pit, Mar'i." He spoke softly and slowly. As if pulling the words out of his mind had been the most painful process he'd endured. Which it could have been if he was dreaming about the pit again.

Of course he was.

His words had begotten a new heaviness in the room. Something that wouldn't leave until morning, something that would rest on them like a blanket of fear and sadness for the duration of the night.

This was why he hadn't told her. She feared too much for his health and now she'd be fearing for his sanity as well. He breathed deeply and clung to her when they laid down again. Hopefully his words would be forgotten by morning.


	21. Sunset

Damian brushed a strand of hair away from Mar'i's face gently, admiring the way it shone in the dimming light. Tahiti was beautiful but even its setting sun couldn't compare to her. But she was like his own personal sun, which meant nothing could compare to her. She was what he revolved around at this point in his life. Mar'i was what had illuminated his life.

Her lips stretched into a smile as he brushed her hair back and he was content to let his eyes wander over them before his fingers did.

She giggled, shoulders shaking as she drew away.

"Are you okay, Damian?" Her eyes squinted slightly as the words bubbled out of her throat with the laughter. "You're paying even more attention to me than usual."

He shrugged. "I was just thinking about you and the sunset." Damian gestured vaguely to the gradating color of the sky in the distance before he brought it back to her face, cradling her jaw carefully.

Almost as if it was something breakable but he knew she was a hard person to break. That's what had broken through to him when they were younger; her tough personality and the fact that she was practically unbreakable. It was what had attracted him to her at first. So many things in his life hadn't stood up to the test of life and time but she had.

She was strong. That was one of the things that made her more beautiful than a fleeting moment when the horizon was shades of red and yellow. She was more dynamic than a simple sunrise in his mind.

"Mm," she hummed in response and pulled his hand from her face to hold in her own. "What exactly about the sunset and I?"

"Just that you're more beautiful than it." His thumb rubbed the back of her hand as he shrugged nonchalantly. "Nothing too unusual." He gave a small smile as he watched the corners of her own turn up even higher, crinkling the skin at the edges of her eyes.

"Of course."

He smiled at her again, even bigger this time. "What? It's true," he leaned in to give her a slow kiss, just barely pulling away to rest his forehead against hers. "You're the most beautiful thing I've ever seen and I've seen everything."

"I think you're just trying to get your way with something." She'd closed her eyes at this point but the edges of her eyes still crinkled with the wide smile displayed on her face. Damian never needed to beg to get his way and he certainly didn't need to compliment her but it was fun to pretend he did.

"Is that so, Miss Grayson?"

"Very much so, Mister Wayne." She let out a laugh - something she'd been doing more often on this vacation than she'd been able to do in a while. There was something about Tahiti that allowed her to relax more than she'd been able to in a long time.

"Then I'll just have to convince you otherwise, won't I?"

"I suppose you will, Damian."


	22. Mad

"Well, you're an idiot!" The shout could be heard throughout the manor, the syllables of each word pronounced and angry. Mar'i was obviously not in good mood.

Except she was never quite this vocal about a bad mood which meant there had to be an aggressor of some sort. There was only one person who could get that kind of reaction out of her.

"Is that the best insult you could think of, Mar'i? Idiot?" Said aggressor tutted. Or whatever it was that he did. Mar'i had always wondered what that was called. And if it was a speech impediment. "How original."

The eleven year old clenched her fists. He was the most infuriating person she'd ever met. She'd kicked him in the face upon their first meeting but she'd been warned against that by her father afterwards so that wasn't an option. Besides, if she punched him now when she couldn't control herself, he'd end up flying through a wall or something. That wouldn't make Gramps or Alfred very happy.

And disappointing Alfred was the worst thing in the world. Because he'd be disappointed in her character and he'd give her that look that made her want to sink into the floor and disappear so she wouldn't disappoint him anymore.

Gramps wasn't nearly as scary as that. Not after she'd seen her mom yell at him without flinching once. That's the way she wanted it to be with Damian but he was so annoying and he got under her skin so easily that it made it hard not to twitch during an argument. At least he wasn't scary.

Part of him not being scary was that she knew she could over come him pretty easily. All of his training hadn't prepared him for her.

Not yet, anyway. Meta-humans and aliens all had different weaknesses and he didn't know hers. But she didn't have many to know.

"So, are you just going to stand there now?" Damian's voice broke into Mar'i's thoughts after a prolonged silence, during which she'd just stood glowering almost absently at the teen.

Mar'i took a deep breath like her dad had taught her to. She didn't need to let her emotions overwhelm her and take over her mind, that was important. Another deep breath and a smile that was slightly disturbing in the amount of malice it held, especially when it came from someone as skinny as she was.

"No," she spoke through her attempt at a calm smile. "I'm going to be nice and walk away." And true to her words, she turned around and stalked towards the drawing room where her parents waited, leaving a confused and slightly frightened Damian Wayne in her wake.

Maybe he shouldn't have made her mad.


	23. Thousand

There were thousands of words and phrases littered through the multitudes of languages Mar'i knew that could describe Damian and their relationship. The English love didn't quite suffice in her mind. Tamaranean's word for love was more complicated and translated (roughly) into intertwined souls. 

Roughly, anyway.

There were phrases in French and Arabic and Spanish that were beautiful and poignant. Victor Hugo's la vie est une fleur dont l'amour est la miel. Life is a flower of which love is the honey.

It sounded better in French, Mar'i mused to herself. More romantic. In English it didn't make as much sense, which was the case with many languages, she had found. Translation seemed to lessen the weight of words and change them into something else. The phrase lost in translation was one of the truest things she'd ever heard. Arabic was a language she'd found hard to translate properly but it was also a language that had intricacies that took outsiders years to learn.

The two of them had eros and pragma. Both enduring love and romantic love, the kind of love that usually seemed to come later in life. The older you became the more enduring your love became. 

Ya amar meant oh moon or what beauty but that wasn't quite what their love was. It wasn't a mutual admiration, at least it wasn't entirely. Hayete seemed more specific. More appropriate. He had become a big part of her life. Damian had said she was his life more than once.

There were thousands of words littered throughout the multitudes of languages she knew but this one seemed to be the most beautiful.


	24. Outside

Damian had never been the type to party and stay out late. When he stayed out late, it was for patrols or it was because he'd been called out for extra patrols. Sometimes it was because they needed all the help they could get if the city was under siege or was in an emergency state. The only reason he stayed out late was because he had work to do and Mar'i understood that. She had the same late schedule (especially as leader of the Titans) and she knew they wouldn't be at home together at the same time as often as they'd like. 

If he drank, it was only a small amount to appease those watching him at benefits. But tonight had been just a little different. He'd had a few drinks with Colin and he'd gotten just a little tipsy. Only a little. Barely enough to make him stumble. Not enough to make him slur his words but enough to let him lose track of time and stay out until...what time was it? 

Damian looked down at his watch. 2 AM. Of course. He was due home at 8 PM. Which was why he was currently locked out of their apartment. Mar'i had probably fallen asleep on the couch waiting for him and if he woke her up at this time, there was no telling what she'd say or do. But what he did know is that she'd be disappointed. 

And he couldn't deal with that look on her face. He patted himself down again, just in case he'd missed it but it still wasn't there. Damian knelt on the carpeted floor of their hall and checked under their mat, then stood and checked on the lip of their doorway. 

Nothing. 

There was nothing. Damian groaned and stuck his hand in his pocket. 

Wait what was that? His fingers grasped at what seemed to be in his pocket, making out a smooth texture and a bumpy top. It was one of Mar'i's bobby pins. He thanked the powers that may be and set to work. To pick a lock you need a lock pick and a tension wrench (which he always seemed to have on him) and if you know what you're doing, it can go fairly quick. It was done in a minute (possibly less but he didn't count the seconds) and he let himself into the apartment with an ease he had thought wouldn't be available to him. 

"Mar'i?" He called out her name softly as he shut the door behind him. "Are you awake, my love?" He looked over to the couch, where sure enough she'd fallen asleep, and made his way over to her. Damian slid an arm under her shoulder and knees before she groaned and pushed him away. 

"No," Mar'i groaned, eyes half open, body limp and heavy. 

Damian chuckled and picked her up anyway. Maybe they could have avoided this if he hadn't been drinking but he wouldn't give up a ridiculous moment like this.


	25. Winter

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I got a little carried away with myself this weekend, whoops! I saved a partial draft of this chapter on tumblr on Friday (when I was supposed to write it) but I ended up at my brother's track meet and didn't have any time after that to write. So, here it is! Sorry for keeping anyone who reads this waiting!

"Brr," Mar'i moved her hands up and down her arms, trying to rub some warmth back into her limbs. Gotham's winters were unforgivable, especially when they were closer to the coast than normal. Both the manor and her house were more inland in Gotham City than the restaurant they were currently waiting outside of. 

Damian tugged her against him, eyebrows drawing together. "You're hardly ever cold, are you alright?" 

"Yeah, I'm fine, Damian." She gave him a smile before leaning into him. In all the years he'd known Mar'i, she'd never been one to really exhibit signs of being cold but she was a human-alien hybrid. She wasn't completely immune to the cold temperatures that the east coast offered.

Though the temperature's effect on her could have something to do with the fact that she was pregnant. Pregnant. No matter how many times he thought about it and no matter how many times she said it, he couldn't get used to it. It still made his heart swell. 

Except maybe he shouldn't still feel this surprised when she was as far along as she was. He could still be excited, though. Even more so now that she was due any day. 

Which brought his thoughts back to the restaurant, with its supposedly 'labor inducing' salad that was so sought after. Those of Gotham's elite had gotten spots before them, which was the exact reason why they were waiting out in the cold. 

The one time in which being Bruce Wayne's heir didn't help him. 

He dropped a quick kiss on his wife's cheek. "We'll be in there soon." They weren't quite desperate for their child to be there but Mar'i was growing more and more uncomfortable, he'd noticed. She'd described it as 'almost having the baby here in here lap' and that sounded ghastly to the man. He'd faced numerous gruesome situations but thankfully, pregnancy would never be one of them. Mar'i had gotten stuck on the floor when he wasn't home more than once and had to float herself out of the situation. 

It wasn't exactly ideal. 

Damian sighed and tried to rub some warmth back into the arm that was facing outwards, hardly believing that they of all people had been stuck in a line like this. They weren't this desperate, why would they wait in a line for this? Their doctor could induce the labor and be done with it. 

Mar'i sighed against him, probably feeling his rising anxiety, and ran a hand over the swell of her stomach. "Let's just go. This isn't worth it and I'm freezing." 

Damian raised an eyebrow and looked her in the eye. "You were completely set on this in the morning." It was almost a question but not quite. Whatever Mar'i wanted, he would do with almost no questions. 

"Yeah, but - " she gestured vaguely at the people in front of them, huddled next to a heat lamp. "It isn't worth it if we'll be out here in the cold for another twenty-five minutes. Can we just get some Chinese and go back to the apartment?" 

With the face she was pulling, there was no way he could say no. Aside from already knowing he wouldn't say no to her this late in her pregnancy. 

Or ever really. Nonetheless, he gave an exaggerated sigh and kissed her cheek again. "Chinese sounds wonderful, Beloved." 

The woman smiled and tucked her hand into one of his back pockets. "So are we walking or are you going to carry me?" 

"Me? Carry you?" He almost laughed but smiled instead, enjoying the laughter dancing in Mar'i's own eyes. "We're going to take a cab to the apartment and then we can order our lunch there. Maybe the spices in that will induce labor." A wink to her and a wave later, they were in a cab and on their way home. 

Hopefully he was right about the spices.


	26. Diamond

Everything paled in comparison to her. It was an observation he'd made before and it was one that he couldn't stop thinking about. It was a cliche but it was true, life was dull without Mar'i Grayson. Without the attitude and the spark she provided. Her temper did get in the way sometimes but it was never horrible. 

Occasionally terrifying but never horrible. 

There wasn't one thing in life that didn't fade away when he looked at her and he wasn't sure there ever would be. She had become one of the most important things in his life. If he said she was the center that would be supremely unhealthy. 

But not even the diamond he wanted to put on her finger could add to the pure light and confidence she exuded. 

That was the most beautiful thing about her.


	27. Letters

"So how many letters has he sent you?" Avia asked as she speared a piece of meat on the end of her fork. Mar'i had glanced up just in time to see her best friend stab the bloody piece, spreading even more blood around her plate, and let her tongue fall out of her mouth. A testament to their friendship, honestly. If anyone else had done that, Avia probably would have sent them sprawling. She may have had a bit of a temper. 

But all she did was stick her tongue out right back before sticking the piece of steak in her mouth. 

Mar'i rolled her eyes and shrugged before scooping some pasta onto her fork. "A total of four." The words didn't hold too much depth. The number of letters didn't mean anything, really, Mar'i knew how Damian felt for her. 

But the number of letters did kind of mean something. She wasn't one to get anxious about these kind of things. She knew that words in print came off differently than the spoken word, nothing could come off the same way. Words didn't mean the same thing when read as opposed to when spoken. The length of the letters were uh...short to say the least. Maybe three paragraphs at the least, five at the most. 

"That's it?" Avia stopped mid-bite to ask the question, a skeptical tone seeping into her voice. "Seriously, you guys have been together for - what? Three years? And he can't even send you more than four letters in six months?" 

Mar'i shrugged and set her fork down, crossing her arms on the table. "I've given up trying to decipher it. I think he's just busy." 

"Busy with meditation? Sure." 

She rolled her eyes again. So maybe Avia hadn't ever really been fond of Damian, neither had a lot of people but they didn't go out of their way to fault him. 

"You could at least try to conceal your disdain, Avia." 

"You know that's not my thing, Mar'i." She explained around a mouthful of pasta. "And you know that you're the same exact way. Remember when you said a certain someone was full of shit in a meta human club? Because I do." 

She gave a glare before continuing her piece. "This is different, he's my boyfriend. You're supposed to pretend to like him, that's some sort of rule." 

"Again, you'd say the same thing to me if you didn't like Gio." The giant gestured with her fork wildly before scooping up more pasta and stabbing a piece of steak. She was pretty talented at multi-tasking, Mar'i had to admit. 

But she wouldn't admit that she was right. 

"No I wouldn't." Exasperated, she turned to her purse to dig out her phone if for even a few seconds of relief. But instead of her phone she found a piece of mail? She hadn't stuck it in her purse, she knew that for sure, but if she hadn't...who had? She pulled it out and looked at the back, looked up at Avia (whose confused face almost rivaled Mar'i's), then back at the letter. It had her name on it but no address. No stamp. No return address. 

But her name was in Damian's handwriting. 

Huh. 

"Did you have that in your purse the entire time?" A confused Avia sat across the table from her, still trying to figure out just how their conversation had led to Mar'i pulling a piece of mail out of her bag. 

Mar'i shrugged, this time bewildered instead of indifferent. How exactly had this made it into her bag? A passing waiter? Damian posing as a waiter? Being creepy from afar? Who knew. 

"So, are you going to open that?" Her friend interrupted her thoughts again. "I can always open it for you, you know." Mar'i rolled her eyes at Avia and ripped the envelope open, then pulled a stiff piece of cardstock out of it. 

There was one word on it. Home. 

Oh. 

"Well, maybe he wanted to keep some things under wraps." Mar'i said and flipped the card to face her friend, whose face twisted into something along the lines of 'reluctantly impressed.' 

So she really didn't have to read into those letters, did she?


	28. Promise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is really lame but I took two nights off from this and then Inuyasha was on and I??? I totally wimped out on an ending because I wanted to watch Inuyasha and I was exhausted I'm so sorry.

Promises meant everything to Mar’i. A broken promise was worse than a broken limb or hurt feelings, it meant that someone she loved hadn’t cared enough to keep the promise they’d made her. When her dad broke his promises of having dinner with her or spending even minimal time with her because he’d been working felt like a bullet to the chest. 

She might not have shown her emotions as openly as her mother did but she certainly felt everything almost as intensely as Kory did. Broken promises weren’t the worst things that could happen, certainly there could be worse things. Someone could die, fall ill, or injure themselves. Friends and family could be entirely lost to her. Broken promises really weren’t the worst things that could happen to her. 

But those things hadn’t happened. 

And this was a broken promise. 

Damian’s broken promise. 

The broken promise of the one you loved elicited the worst pain of all. 

Heartbreak.


	29. Simple

"See? She likes you just fine, Damian." Mar'i gestured to the baby on his shoulder, speaking quietly. The baby had just fallen asleep and she didn't want to risk waking her up; ten minutes of a tired baby crying had been enough for her. 

Her husband grunted (softly). "I never said she didn't, Mar'i." Lie. 

He'd been afraid of dropping her at first, then afraid that she didn't like him holding her, and finally afraid that she didn't like him at all. Mar'i had told him again and again that holding a baby was simple, getting her to sleep was easy enough if you held her the right way and had the right blanket. It was simple enough to make up a bottle the right way, he'd learned, but feeding it to the baby wasn't as easy as his wife had led on. 

Lil'i would push it away, spit the nipple out and cry, or spit up the formula or breast milk entirely. But only with Damian, of course, never with her mother. He'd held her after Mar'i had at her birth, shouldn't that have endeared her to him even a little. Damian puffed out a small sigh and looked up at the woman, only slightly disgruntled that she knew him as well as she did. 

She gave a roll of her eyes and plunked down into the love seat across from the arm chair he occupied. 

"She's asleep, Damian." Mar'i carded her fingers through her hair and leaned back into the couch cushions, tucking her legs underneath her. "It's way simpler than you thought it would be." 

The man rubbed the back of the infant over his shoulder and realized that for the first time, Mar'i was right about taking care of little Lil'i. It was simple and beautiful in its simplicity. Tiring, yes, but entirely worth it when she smiled at him for the first time. Giggled. Tugged on his shirt or ear. It was incredibly simple, almost deceptively so. 

But it was beautiful.


	30. Future

Mar’i dropped her duffel inside their doorway and kicked off her sneakers. Her dad had run her ragged in the training room this morning and her body was paying for it now. The braid she’d done up as tight as she could earlier was coming undone, strands of hair sticking to her sweaty face. Her thighs burned from just walking after working out and her calves…X’hal she didn’t even want to talk about her calves. Her very bones creaked when she moved, making every movement painful. 

But she was stubborn, she kept moving through her apartment to flop onto her c - wait. There was already someone that had flopped onto her couch in her stead and it was…of course, it was her boyfriend. 

Who else would it be? No one else lived with her and Alura didn’t stop by just to eat their food and sleep on their couch anymore. Mar’i tugged her shirt off and studied him. He looked more comfortable than usual, more relaxed. Though the lines of his face were still drawn together, making him look more severe than he really was. One of his arms was flung off of the couch, his lips were pressed together, and his hair was…well, it was a mess. 

It was charming. She slipped out of her shorts, now standing in just a pair of compressions and a sports bra in their living room, glad that they’d had the windows tinted. They were on a higher floor, which meant not many people could see them but there were apartment buildings surrounding and across from their own. Which meant onlookers and reporters could see them if they so wished. 

Which wasn’t a good thing, considering Mar’i was known to walk around nude at times. Though, this was really only known by Damian and Alura. Avia. Robbie had seen her naked on more than one occasion. Mar’i sighed and peeled herself out of her clothes before making her way to her bedroom, done thinking about what her friends had seen in the past, and almost done thinking about Damian. 

She threw on a large t-shirt and traced her path back to the living room, carefully situating herself on top of Damian. 

And realizing for the first time that this would be her reality for as long as she wanted it to be…which was for the foreseeable and beyond. 

The future. Huh. She fit one of her hands under his back and her head under his chin. This man was her future. 

What an odd thing to become aware of.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And I'm done! I can't believe that I actually finished this one. I know I didn't update every day like I was supposed to but I did follow through and did something for every prompt, which is why I'm really proud of myself. None of you needed to know this but I have ADD/ADHD and it's...difficult. It makes it difficult for me to finish things like this and function like a normal person. 
> 
> So, I really did this for myself. To prove I could finish something and make it good. 
> 
> Thanks for reading!


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